THE CAMPAIGN FOR VIA
Welcome to the Campaign for VIA
For nearly 30 years, VIA Centers for Neurodevelopment (formerly the Virginia Institute of Autism) has evolved and expanded significantly to support children and adults in overcoming the challenges of neurodevelopmental disabilities through innovative, evidence-based programs in education, outreach, and adult services. VIA has been a lifeline of hope for families.
The need for VIA’s services has never been greater. By launching a multimillion-dollar comprehensive campaign, VIA seeks to support the crucial needs of our existing programs and welcome more students, clients, and families who are seeking brighter futures. With new facilities in Charlottesville and Roanoke, this campaign will nearly double the capacity of our school programs, expand adolescent and adult services, and bolster all of our programs throughout Virginia.
EXPANDING TO MEET GROWING DEMAND
During the past decade and beyond, VIA has experienced remarkable expansion in several key areas that provide services to increasing numbers of families.
FAMILIES SERVED
FACULTY AND STAFF
TOTAL FACILITY SQUARE FOOTAGE
DEDICATED TO SERVING
OUR FAMILIES
NEED-DRIVEN EVOLUTION
VIA has evolved to create a structure that best meets the various needs of those we serve. VIA now encompasses:
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School Services,
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Adult Services, and
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Behavioral Health Services.
BROADENING OUR REACH
As demand for VIA’s services has increased, we have expanded our geographical footprint to serve students, adults, and families throughout Virginia.
“Our founders answered a call to provide effective education for students with autism. We continue to respond to the needs of families as the demand for our services has skyrocketed.”
— ETHAN LONG,
VIA President
and CEO
In the United States, one in 36 children are diagnosed with autism.
25,OOO SQUARE FEET:
MORE THAN DOUBLE
THE SPACE
of the current
Charlottesville VIA Day School
A NEW HOME FOR THE CHARLOTTESVILLE
VIA DAY SCHOOL
WELCOMING MORE STUDENTS
With the purchase of a building adjacent to the Center for Adolescent and Adult Autism Services (CAAAS) in Charlottesville, VIA is creating a purpose-built school designed specifically for students with neurodevelopmental challenges. The school will allow training and research to be integrated with effective education services.
CREATING A CAMPUS
Located just steps away from CAAAS, the new VIA school location will complement existing services to create a centralized campus that supports students and adults with autism spectrum disorder and other neurodevelopmental disabilities.
TRANSFORMING A FAMILY
Sixth grader Charlie Wright is excelling academically and socially in public school. But it wasn’t always that way. Before Charlie came to the VIA Day School, he was struggling. “You could tell he wanted to connect with students so badly but didn’t know how,” says his mom, Liz.
At VIA, teachers and behavior technicians provided Charlie and his family with an increased level of confidence, and he transitioned from VIA to middle school last spring. “VIA gives people a place and voice to feel successful,” says Charlie’s dad, Ryan.
Charlie’s older sister and younger brother also benefited from VIA’s Sibling Support Program. “The faculty at VIA do more than just look out for the kids — they look out for the whole family,” says Ryan. “VIA impacted the life not only of Charlie but his brother and sister, as well as his mom and dad. We’re not doing this by ourselves.”
“This new building will provide a safe and welcoming environment that mirrors the warmth that is already felt within the walls of our current programs. Students will thrive here because the space is designed to be conducive to meeting their individual needs.”
— JESSICA DOUCETTE,
Executive Director of School Services
“CAAAS Roanoke will give our adolescents and adults a space to hone their skills to meet their vocational goals, build social connections, and thrive in our community.”
— LAUREN SHAW,
Director of Adult Services
GROWING THROUGHOUT VIRGINIA
ROANOKE
To support the growing need for adolescent and adult services, VIA has secured a new building in Roanoke that houses a variety of specialized program.
Please save the date for September 10, 2024, for the CAAAS Roanoke ribbon cutting.
THE POWER OF ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Space for a workshop and a store enables VIAble Ventures participants to create and sell products, like the Hub Prints screen print bags and T-shirts, providing meaningful work for adults with neurodevelopmental challenges.
LEARNING PRACTICAL AND VOCATIONAL SKILLS
Flexible classrooms with kitchen appliances, vocational training and life skills labs, and a learning apartment provide opportunities to learn a wide variety of skills that many people take for granted.
SOCIAL
CONNECTIONS
VIA’s Club & Hub program will be a place where participants can make friends, build social networks, and enjoy fellowship.
LYNCHBURG
In 2023, VIA opened a new center that provided the program’s first permanent home in Lynchburg and doubled the capacity for school services there. It also provides space for expanded programs, including VIA’s Club & Hub, job coaching, and vocational training services.
ROOM TO LEARN AND PLAY
VIA’s new Lynchburg building is spacious and versatile. It features specially designed classrooms for individual and group learning, a teaching kitchen, a conference and training center, ample community and skill-building areas for adolescents and adults, and a sensory room and outdoor playground designed for the development of motor skills.
LEXINGTON
After opening its doors in 2009, the Lexington school helped fill a gap in the community. Before it opened, families were driving an hour each way to Roanoke to access services.
OPENING OUR DOORS
The Day School in Lexington supports 10 students with neurodevelopmental challenges. In the coming years, VIA plans to increase the number of students served and services provided.
THE CAMPAIGN
VIA is embarking on an ambitious $10 million campaign that will allow us to answer the call from even more families in need. This campaign will provide the necessary support to both sustain and extend our current services. This firm footing will enable VIA to take its next significant step — developing innovative solutions for the longer-term challenges that lie ahead for its adult clients.
“This campaign bolsters our current programs and provides spacious new facilities customized for our students and adults. It also positions VIA to meet the challenges that lie ahead as we develop long-term residential services.”
— ALISON WEBB,
Parent and VIA Co-founder
HOMEWARD BOUND
When David and Donna Cattell-Gordon joined forces with Bernie and Alison Webb in 1996 to co-found the Virginia Institute of Autism, their young children were among the school’s first students. As they grew up, VIA grew along with them and has since served hundreds of children and adults with neurodevelopmental disorders.
Daniel Cattell-Gordon came to VIA as a 2-year-old. Now in his early 30s, Daniel is a 7-foot-tall “huggable, gentle giant,” as described by his father, David.
“VIA has been a school for Daniel, there’s been work for Daniel here, there have been meaningful relationships for Daniel, and there is community for Daniel — who could have ever imagined the bridges that have been built?” asks David. “But what remains is making a home for Daniel, one which endures after I am gone.”
VIA has a long history of rising to meet the needs of its families. Creating a lifetime home where adults like Daniel can live within a caring and supportive community that meets the specialized requirements of its residents is our next great challenge.
ON THE HORIZON
BUILDING FOR THE FUTURE
A legacy gift to the endowment helps ensure that VIA can continue to fulfill its mission of creating a richer, more inclusive world for current and future generations. Endowment funds provide a critical source of ongoing support as we expand service offerings and add programs like residential services.
A PRESSING NEED
VIA’s founding students are now well into adulthood and because they have aging parents, residential services are the next critical need that VIA must address. By solving the challenge of creating long-term, supportive homes for our adult students, VIA can answer the most common question that families ask: “What will happen to my child when I am gone?”
THE VIA TIMELINE
A look back at VIA’s milestones reveals some of the ways the organization has answered the call for additional services, both programmatically and geographically.
Please join us in building a richer, more inclusive world.
To support the Campaign for VIA, contact us at
434-923-8252 or advancement@viacenters.org.
VIA Board Members
John Will, Chair
Kelley MacDougall, Vice Chair
Brian Johnson, Secretary
Caruso Brown, Treasurer
John J. Battiston
Jason Cockerill
Jeff Coppola
C. Milton Dunlap III
David C. Gordon
Chris Little
Sue Miller
Lee Mullen
Rich D. Stevenson
Bernard C. Webb
Ethan Long, VIA President & CEO
Campaign Steering Commmittee
Pam Edmonds
Kaye Forsman
Kelley MacDougall
Lee Mullen
Gary Taylor
Alison Webb
Bernard C. Webb
